Leather working machine



Nov. 21, 1933. scHETTLER 1,935,861

- LEATHER WORKING MACHINE Filed June 16, 1928 Patented Nov. 21, 1933 x i I 1,935,861 V a T.

LEATHER WORKING MACHINE Gustav Adolf Schettler, Leeds, England, assignor to The Turner Tanning Machinery Company, Portland, Maine, a corporation of Maine Application June 16, 1928, Serial No. 285,857, and in Great Britain July 20, 1927 20 Claims. (Cl. 14916) This invention relates to machines for operattact with the bed roll as to secure such tension, ing upon hides, skins, leather and other similar Whereas work of a more stretchable quality may pieces of work and is illustrated as embodied in a have less tension applied by driving the auxiliary machine for setting hides or putting-out skins. roll with less pressure on the bed roll so that it It is to be understood, however, that the invenmay slip when the tension reaches a predeter- 60 tion and various important features thereof may mined maximum. Another advantage of the conhave other applications and uses. struction by which the auxiliary roll is caused to It has heretofore been proposed to provide mapress against the bed roll, instead of being in chines of the type referred to with a roll located spaced relation thereto as in prior constructions,

below the bed roll of the machine in spaced relaresides in the fact that waste liquids are thereby 5 tion thereto to serve as an auxiliary work support, prevented from being carried by the bed roll into the bed roll and the auxiliary work support opcontact with the work. In the illustrated machine crating to tension the work and to support it in also, the auxiliary roll is pressed yieldingly such a manner as to present a considerable suragainst the work operating instrumentality, the

face of the work under tension to an operating degree of pressure being'readily controllable so 79 cylinder. In the described prior construction, the that the operator may secure the proper pressure bed roll and the auxiliary roll are each driven in at will by a simple manipulation of a hand lever a positive manner by gearing, part of which is provided for the purpose. supported on the frame of the machine while other These and other features of the invention, in-

go parts move with the bed roll and auxiliary roll, eluding various details of construction and combi- 7 respectively. It is a disadvantage of such prior nations of parts, will be more particularly deconstructions that the drive of the auxiliary roll scribed by reference to the accompanying drawing is positive with no possibility of adjusting the tenand thereafter pointed out in the claims. sion on the work suitably to the requirements In the drawing,

thereof. Moreover, the meshing of the independ- Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a machine ent gears may not be simultaneous so that the embodying the invention in a preferred form; auxiliary roll may not be applying tension to the Fig. 2 is a sectional view along the line II-II work at the instant that the work operating cylof the machine shown in Fig. l; inder is reached by the work on the bed roll. Fig. 3 is a detail view illustrating an arrange- 30 It is an object of the invention to provide a ment for yieldingly mounting the auxiliary work machine of the character described which will obsupporting roll; and viate the disadvantages of prior constructions and Fig. 4 is an end view of the machine shown in will be simpler and more durable in its construc-- Fig. 1 illustrating themeans for moving the bed tion. roll and auxiliary roll between Work receiving 35 To these endsand in accordance with a feature and work presenting positions. of the invention, the illustrated machine com- 7 In the illustrated machine. which is adapted,

prises an auxiliary roll co-operating-with a bed among other uses such as those later mentioned, roll and arranged to be driven impositively in a for the operations of putting-out skins and setdirection the reverse of the direction of rotation ting hides after tanning operations, there is pro- 40 of the bed roll, thereby placing the material under vided a bed roll 10 for presenting pieces of work tensmmbut 11013 a Positively unyielding tension, to an operating instrumentality consisting of a where it is being operated upon by a work operbladed cylinder 12. In order that the bed roll ating instriunentality. Conveniently, the auxilmay move between work receiving and" work iary member is driven frictionally by contact of presenting positions it is mounted at the upper 45 its cylindrical surface with corresponding surface end of oscillatory arms 14 (Fig. 4) arranged to of the bed roll and hence is operative and effecbe operated by toggle members 16, 18 from a shaft tive to tension the work the instant the bed roll 20 through pitmans 22,'in a well-known manner. becomes operative to back the work against the Preferably and-as shown, one end of the toggle thrust of the work operating instrumentality. member 18 is pivoted to a rod 24 backed yieldingly 50 Since the auxiliary roll is adjustable with respect by a heavy spring 26 mounted slidably in a box 28 to the bed roll, the pressure between them can be carried by the machine frame, so that the bed predetermined, in this, way predetermining also roll 10 may yield when in operative position to the maximum tension on the work. If the quality accommodate variations in the thickness of the of the work should require extreme tension, the pieces of work.

55 auxiliary roll may be adjusted so firmly in con-- When the bed roll 10 moves to Work presenting position a gear 29 on its shaft comes into mesh with a constantly driven gear 31 on the shaft of a feed roll 30 mounted above and in front of the bladed cylinder 12 in journals provided in the frame of the machine. The feed roll 30 is arranged to be driven in the direction of the arrow to co-operate with the bed roll 10 in feeding the piece of work toward the operator while the bladed cylinder 12 rotates in a direction opposed to the feeding direction of the work to operate upon the work where it is backed by the bed roll. The arrangement of rolls 10 and 30 with respect to each other and with respect. to the bladed cylinder 12 is such that the piece of work is gripped to effect feeding thereof just beforethe,

bed roll presses the work against the bladed cylinder. As indicated in Fig. l, the cylinder 12 is driven continuously at a uniform speed by power applied through pulley 33 on the shaft of the cylinder and keyed thereto.

In introducing a piece of work into the machine, it is "thrown over the bed roll 10 so that approximately one-half of the hide or skin will be operated upon while it is being fed out in a forward direction toward the operator. tion is completed the operator steps upon treadle 31, causing the bed roll to move to open, work receiving position. The piece of work is then reversed end for end and the untreated part is thrown-=over the bed roll 10 in position for the bladed cylinder 12 to begin its operation upon the untreated portion.

For assistingthe bed roll 10 in presenting the work to the bladed cylinder 12 there provided an auxiliary roll 32 carried in journals provided in swing arms 34 mounted for oscillation one at each end of the shaft 36 of the bed roll 10, the roll 32 being substantially equal in length to the roll 10. From this arrangement it will be clear that the auxiliary roll 32 moves with the bed roll 10 between work receiving and work presenting positions. It will be observed also (Figs. 2 and 4) that the immediate support for the auxiliary roll 32 is furnished by a pair of auxiliary swing arms 40 each pivoted at 42 upon the swing arms 34.

For pressing the auxiliary roll 32 more or less firmly into contact with-the bed roll 10 there is provided at each end of the roll 32 a member 44 screw threaded into a boss 46 on the arm 34 and having an end portion for engagement with the auxiliary swing arm 40. Upon proper manipulation of the screw threaded members 44 the roll 32 is forced more or less firmly against the bed roll 10 as may be desirable, and is locked in adjusted position by lock nuts 48. .By this contact with the bed roll the auxiliary roll is driven frictionally by the bed roll in a direction the reverse of the direction of movement of the bed roll, thereby causing the auxiliary roll to apply considerable tension to the work. Only moderate pressure between the two rolls is required to drive the auxiliary roll. On the other hand, the auxiliary" roll will slip when tension on the work of a predetermined maximum is reached. Hence, the

amount of tension on the work is automatically controlled by the driving connections between the auxiliary roll 32 and the bed roll 10. I

Inasmuch as, in unhairing and in fleshing operations, the hide or skin should be under tension .to secure the best results, the'present construction and arrangement of the bed roll and its auxiliary roll provide a construction especially suited for these two operations as well as for operations such as those above mentioned. Moreover, the driving of the auxiliary roll 32 by the bed roll When this opera-' 10 in the manner described makes it unnecessary to provide a separate driving means for the auxiliary roll, thus doing away with the gearing characteristic of prior constructions, in which a gear on the shaft of the auxiliary roll had to come into mesh with a gear stationary in space on the frame of the machine. As a further advantage, the auxiliary roll 32, through its firm rolling contact with the bed roll 10, serves to prevent the passage of water and other liquids from the back of the bed roll, i. e., the work presenting surface opposedto the cylinder, to the workv supporting face thereof, thus assisting in keeping the work in a cleanly condition.

For holding the swing arms 34 positioned to cause the auxiliary roll 32 to press the work against the bladed cylinder 12 each swing arm 34 is provided at its upper end with 3. connecting link 50 pivotally mounted upon a shaft 52, the ends of which are supported in bearings furnished by brackets 54 secured to the frame of the machine. At its other end each connecting link 50 is pivotallyconnected at 56 to the adjacent endof one of the swing'arms 34. Preferably, and as shown, the connecting link 50 comprises a portion 58 which may be manipulated to cause desired variations in the length of the link so that the auxiliary roll 32 may be positioned in the desired initial relation with respect to the bladed cylinder 12. auxiliary roll 32 with respect to the bladed cylinder 12 may be adjusted instantly at the will of the operator, the connecting links 56 are each provided with a portion 60 engaged with an eccentric strap member 62 surrounding an eccentric 63 on the shaft 52. Secured to the shaft 52 at one end is a hand lever 64/ Upon rotating the shaft 52-by means ofthe hand lever 64, theseeentrics at each end thereof are shifted to cause movement of the links 50 and, perforce, of the swing arms 34 about'their pivots on the shaft 36. In this way theauxiliary roll 32 may be moved toward or from the bladed'cylinders 12, thereby varying the pressure of the auxiliary roll 32 upon the work between it and the bladed cylinder. For holding the hand lever 64 and with it. the shaft'54 in adjusted position, there is provided a quadrant 66 fast to the bracket 54 and having a slot 68 struck on an are about the center of theshaft 52. Projecting through the handle lever 64 and through the slot 68 is a bolt 70 having a winged nut '72 associated therewith for tightening the bolt to hold the handle 64 in adjusted position with respect to the quadrant 661 In order that the auxiliary roll 32 may be pressed yieldingly against the bladed cylinder 12, the connection between the shaft 52 and the adjacent end of the swing arm 34 may be yielding, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4 wherein it will be seen that the connecting link 50, pivoted at 56 to the swing arm 34, has its'other end 60 slidably mounted within the strap member 62, a spring 88 interposed between a washer 90 in engagement with the strap member 62 and a second washer 92 backed by an adjustable nut'94 1 screw threaded upon the screw threaded portion 58 of the-connecting link 50. It will be clear upon inspection of 2 that a thicker portion in the piece of work will cause the auxiliary roll 32 to yield away from the bladed cylinder 12 since the springs 88 will shorten under the compression force exerted by the washers 92 carried by the connecting links 50. At the same time rotation of the shaft 52 by the handle lever 64 will cause adjustment of the link 50 and of the swing arm 34 if no work is interposed between the roll 32 and the cylinder 12. In case the hand lever 64 is adjusted while a piece of work is on or passing over the roll 32, the yielding pressure applied through the springs 88 will be varied;

If desired, the auxiliary roll 32'may be mounted at each end in a bearing block (Fig. 3) slidably supported in the adjacent end of the swing arm 34, the bearing blocks 100 each having above and below forked portions to engage slidably with adjacent portions of the swing arm 34 and each block 100 being pressed upon by a spring 102 interposed between the block and a boss 104 formed as part of the lower end of the swing arm 34. Extending through the boss 104 is a member 106 having its other end screw threaded into'the block 100, the arrangement being such that the spring 102 surroundsthe member 106 to be held in proper position thereby. For holding the block 100 against the pressure of the spring 102 the member 106 is screw threaded upon its free end to receive two nuts 108. These nuts prevent movement of the block 100 and of the auxiliary roll 32 toward the bladed cylinder 12 under pressure of the spring 102. At the same time, the roll 32 and blocks 100 may move toward the left in Fig. 3, compressing the springs 102 in self-adjusting movements of the roll 32 in accommodation to variations in the thickness of the work passing between the roll and the bladed cylinder 12. In the construction shown in Fig. 3 for pressing the auxiliary roll 32 more or less firmly against the bed roll 10, there is provided a screw threaded member 110 in all essential respects similar to the screw threaded member 44 shown in Fig.- 2.

' In the operation of th e machine, the auxiliary roll 32 is driven, as already stated, through its contact with the bed roll 10 to rotate ina direction the reverse of the direction of rotation of the bed roll. Hence, a piece of work resting over both the bed roll 10 and the auxiliary roll 32 will be subjected toa stretching operation which opens out the shank and skirt portions of the hides or skins, extends folded or wrinkled portions wherever occurring in the work, and places both sides of the hide or skin under practically equal tension. If, for instance, the grain side of a. hide or skin be presented to the bladed cylinder 12, it will be subjected to a very considerable stretching effect by the bladed cylinder at the same time that it is being operated upon by the blades in their special capacity 'as putting-out or setting blades. Now, by providing for driving the auxiliary roll 32 in a direction the reverse of the bed roll 10, the flesh side of the same hide or skin is put under tension practically the same in amount as the tension on the grain side. This is particularly important in operations upon sheep skins wherein difierences in tension on the grain and flesh sides of the same piece of work may result in piping, that is, separation of the grain side from the flesh side. By providing for adjustment of the pressure between the bed roll and auxiliary roll, the tension may be varied to suit the require-. ments of the work in the manner already de- Having'described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, an instrumentality for operating on a piece of work, a driven work supporting bed roll, and an auxiliary roll arranged to present a surface to back the piece of work directly against the thrust of said instrumentality, said auxiliary roll being driven impositively from the bed roll in a direction the reverse of the direction of the rotation of the bed roll, whereby the'work supporting surfaces of the bed and auxiliary rolls move in opposite directions to tension the work during the operation of said instrumentality. J

2. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, an instrumentality for operating on a piece of work, a driven work supporting bed roll, and an auxiliary work supporting roll having a surface arranged to back the work against the thrust of said instrumentality, said auxiliary roll having its cylindrical surface in contact with the cylindrical surfaceof the bed roll, so as to be driven frictionally from the bed roll whereby the work supporting surfaces of the bed and auxiliary rolls move in opposite directions to apply tension to the work during the operation of said instrumentality.

3. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, an instrumentality for operating on a piece of work, a driven work supporting bed roll, an auxiliary work supporting roll arranged to back the work against the thrust of said instrumentality, and means for mounting the auxiliary roll with its surface in contact with the bed roll to cause the auxiliary roll to be driven frictionally by the bed roll, the two rolls being adjustable with respect to each other to predetermine thepressure bethe feeding means, said tensioning means cornprising a roll driven from the feeding means, and connections between said roll and the feeding means arranged to adjust the roll about its pivotal mounting means in directions toward or from the feeding means thereby to determine the tension applied to the work.

5. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins,

leather and other similar pieces of work, a bladed I cylinder for operating on the work, a driven work supporting bed roll, and an auxiliary roll driven by the bed roll to turn in a direction the reverse of that of the bed roll for tensioning the piece of work for the bladed cylinder during the operation of the latter.

6. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins-leather and other similar pieces of work, a bladed. cylinder for operating on the work, a bed roll for supporting the work against the thrust of the bladed cylinder, and an auxiliary Work supporting roll having a surface arranged to back the work against the thrust of said cylinder, said auxiliary roll located in rolling contact with the bed roll and operative to prevent passage of waste liquids to the work supporting surface of. the bed roll from the rear or work presenting surface of the bed roll where it is opposed to the cylinder.

'7. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a bladed cylinder for operating on a piece of work, a bed roll for backing the work against the thrust of the cylinder, a feed roll arranged to cooperate with the bed roll to feed the work, means driven in a direction the reverse of that of the bed roll for tensioning the work while it is undergoing operation by the cylinder, and con-,

nections between the tensioning means and the bed roll arranged to adjust the former directly toward or from the latter thereby to'determine the tension applied to the Work,

8. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a bladed cylinder operating on a piece of work, means for feeding the work comprising a work support arranged to back the work directly against the thrust of the cylinder, an auxiliary roll operative to pull the work in a direction 0pposite to the feeding means for tensioning it during the operation of the cylinder, and connections between the auxiliary roll and the work support arranged to adjust the former directly toward or from the latter thereby to determine the tension applied to the work.

9. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a bladed cylinder for operating on a piece of work, a driven work supporting bed roll, and means driven directly by the bed roll for tensioning the work for the bladed cylinder during operation of the latter.

10. In a-machine for operating upon hides,-

skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a bladed cylinder for operating on a piece of work, a bed roll for supporting the work against the thrust of the cylinder, means for feedingthe work past the bladed cylinder, and a roll posi- 'tioned to havethe work dragged over a surface thereof, said last-mentioned roll turning in a direction the reverse of that of the bed roll and arranged to be driven directly by the bed roll to tension the piece of work during the operation of the bladed cylinder.

11. In a machine for operating upon hides,

skins, leather and other similar pieces of work,-

a bladed cylinder for operating on the Work, means for feeding the work past the bladed cylinder comprising a bed roll for supporting the work against the thrust'of the cylinder, an auxiliary work supporting roll driven in a direction the reverse of the bladed cylinder to co-operate therewith in tensioning the work during the operation of the cylinder thereon, and means arranged to operate upon the auxiliary roll independently of the bed roll for yieldingly pressing the auxiliary roll in a direction toward the bladed cylinder, said auxiliary roll being mounted for adjustment directly toward or from the bed roll.

12. In -a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a bladed cylinder for operating on apiece of work, a bed roll for supporting the work againstthe thrust of the bladed cylinder, 'means for supporting the bed roll for movement between work receiving and work presenting positions, an auxiliary work supporting roll for co-operation with the bed roll in tensioning the work, means for yieldingly backing thebed roll so as to accommodate variations in the thickness of the work between the bed roll and the bladed cylinder, means independent of the yielding backing of the bed roll for yieldingly backing the auxiliary roll against the thrust of the cylinder upon the work, and means arranged to adjust the auxiliary roll directly towardor from the bed roll for varying the tension on the work.

13. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work,

a bladed cylinder for operating on a piece of work, a-bed roll for supporting the work against the thrust of a bladed cylinder, an auxiliary roll for supporting the ,work against the thrust of the cylinder, said auxiliary roll being driven from said bed roll,v means for yieldingly backing the bed roll so as to-accommodate variations in the thickness of the work between the bed roll and the bladed cylinder, and -means independent of the yielding backing of the bed roll for supporting the auxiliary roll adjustably with'respect to the bladed cylinder.

14. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a bladed cylinder for operating on a piece of work, a bed roll for supporting the work against the thrust of the bladed cylinder, means for supporting the bed roll for movement between work receiving and work presenting positions, an auxiliary work supporting roll driven from the bed roll and movable with the bed roll between work receiving position and work presenting position with respect to cylinder, means for yieldingly backing the bed roll so as to accommodate variations in the thickness of the Work between the bed roll and the bladed cylinder, and means independent of the yielding backingof the bed roll for supporting the auxiliary roll adjustably with respect tothe bladed cylinder. I

15. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a bladed cylinder for operating on a piece of Work, a driven work supporting bed roll, operative to support the work against the thrust of the bladed cylinder, an auxiliary work supporting roll arranged to be drivenin a direction the reverse of that of the bed roll to put the work under tension where it is being operated upon by the cylinder, means for yieldingly backing the bed roll so as to accommodate variations in the thickness of the workbetween the bed roll and the bladed cylinder, and means readily op-v erable by the operator for adjusting the auxiliary roll with respect to the bladed cylinder during the operation of the machine.

16. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work,

a bladed cylinder for operating on a piece oi work, a driven work supporting bed roll, means for supporting the bed roll for movement between work receiving and work presenting posi-' tions, an auxiliary work supporting roll movable with the bed roll between work receiving and work presenting positions, said auxiliary roll being arranged to back the work against the skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, ii?

a bladed cylinder for operating on a piece of work, a driven work supporting bed roll operative to back the work against the thrust of the bladed cylinder, means for supporting the bed roll for movement between work receiving and work presenting positions, an auxiliary work supporting roll movable with the bed roll between 'work receiving'and work presenting positions,

means .for yieldingly backing the bed roll so as to accommodate variations in the thicknessof the work between the bed roll and the bladed cylinder, and means for supporting the auxiliary roll in contact with the bed roll so asto be driven thereby, said supporting means being constructed and arranged to permit the auxiliary roll to yield relatively to the bladed cylinder.

18. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a bladed cylinder for operating on a piece of work, a bed roll for supporting the work against the thrust of the bladed cylinder, means for driving the bed roll, means comprising oscillatory members for supporting the bed roll for movement between work receiving and work presenting positions, swing arms mounted to turn about the axis of the bed roll and to move therewith during movement of the bed roll between work receiving and work presenting positions, an auxiliary work supporting roll carried by said swing arms and arranged to be driven by the bed roll, and means connected with the swing arms on the side of the bed roll away from the auxiliary roll for holding the auxiliary work supporting roll yieldingly against the thrust of the bladed cylinder.

19. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a bladed cylinder for operating on a piece of work, a bed roll for supporting the work against the thrust of the bladed cylinder, means comprising oscillatory members for supporting the bed roll for movement between work receiving and work presenting positions, swing arms mounted to turn about the axis of the bed roll and to move therewith during movement of the auxiliary roll yieldingly toward the cylinder, a. shaft mounted in the frame of the machine, and connecting links movable on the shaft and pivotally connected to the swing arms, said links being operative to cause the auxiliary work supporting roll to be held by the swing arms in position to support the work against the thrust of the bladed cylinder, said shaft being movable to adjust the connecting links, whereby the'yielding pressure of the auxiliary roll with respect to the cylinder may be varied.

20. In a' machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a bladed cylinder for operating on a piece of work, a bed roll for supporting the work against the thrust of the bladed cylinder, means comprising oscillatory members for supporting the bed roll for movement between work receiving and work presenting positions, an auxiliary work supporting roll, swing arms mounted to turn about the axis of the bed roll and to move therewith during movement of the bed roll between work receiving and work presenting positions, said swing arms being provided with bearings for supporting the auxiliary work supporting roll, a shaft mounted in the frame of the machine, connecting links movable on the shaft and pivotally connected to the swing arms, and spring means associated with said links to hold the swing arms with the auxiliary work supporting roll pressed yieldingly against the thrust of the bladed cylinder, and said connecting links being adjustable with respect to the shaft to control the spring means to vary the yielding pressure of the work supporting auxiliary roll with respect to the bladed cylinder.

GUSTAV ADOLF SCHETTLER.

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